EDAWN Exceeds New Jobs Goal of 2,000 for the Reno-Sparks Region

July 22, 2013

EDAWN Exceeds New Jobs Goal of 2,000 for the Reno-Sparks Region | Business Facilities - Area Economic Development, Site Selection & Workforce Solutions

Posted by Heidi Schwartz

Greater Reno-Sparks-Tahoe saw a significant increase in the number of jobs created in the region over the past 12 months compared to previous years. According to the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013, the organization and its partners assisted 33 companies to relocate or expand in the region, creating a projected 2,112 jobs within five years. This is a 28% increase in assisted jobs announced last year and more than double the assisted jobs average for the past five years.

“We are excited by our results for this year, for a community of our size to exceed 2,000 new primary jobs is remarkable. These results would not be possible without the tremendous support we have received from Gov. Sandoval and the state office of economic development, the Cities of Reno, Sparks and Fernley as well as Washoe and Storey Counties,” said Mike Kazmierski, CEO of EDAWN. “In addition to local and state elected officials and staff, we are thrilled with the cooperative and supportive efforts of the Northern Nevada Development Authority, the brokerage community and the community overall. Economic development is a team effort and our many partners, investors and board members are engaged as part of a team that is committed to growing our economy by attracting, retaining and growing quality jobs at a time when our region still has almost 20,000 unemployed.”

The 33 assisted companies include 23 companies that relocated or expanded to the area and 10 local assisted expansion projects; six of the projects were also headquarters relocations. Four of these companies are not yet named as they have recently decided to relocate to the community and will be formally announced in the weeks ahead.

The top three industries represented included manufacturing (11 companies), back office/business support (10 companies) and logistics (seven companies). The 33 companies represent a combined projected $1.8 billion in economic impact to the region (over the next five years) in new tax revenue, employee payroll and capital investment, while absorbing nearly one million square feet of purchased or leased industrial or office space.

EDAWN’s pipeline for future company relocation is full with increased prospect activity and an increase in companies looking to relocate or expand from California, accounting for 40 percent of all inbound leads. The number of site visits by companies interested in the region also grew dramatically over the past two years, from an average of four per month in 2011 to more than 10 per month in 2013.

“While we are pleased with the growing success of our quality job attraction efforts, our new programs in retention/expansion and entrepreneurial development have really taken off as well,” Kazmierski said. “The companies already here are extremely important to our economy, and as a community, we need to be supportive of their continued success; while the growth of our entrepreneurial ecosystem is critical to the job creation efforts of the future.”

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